Former Legend Towles wins job as Astros' catcher

When former Lexington Legend J.R. Towles takes a look around the Houston Astros' spring training camp, he can easily put himself in the place of the young minor leaguers who are in camp trying to climb the next rung of the baseball ladder.

"When you're on the minor league side, at the lower levels, it always seems like you're a long way from the big leagues," said Towles, who played for the Legends in 2005 and 2006 and made it to the big leagues with Houston in 2007. "But you never know what can happen. When you're in the right spot at the right time, when the door opens, take advantage of it."

Towles took advantage of a big opportunity this spring. After going back and forth between the Astros and triple A Round Rock for parts of three seasons, he won a battle with highly regarded prospect Jason Castro, and is expected to be the Astros' starting catcher. Both players had strong springs, but the Astros decided to reassign Castro to minor league camp on March 30.

"Just trying to go out there and do the best I can," Towles said. "Fighting for a spot. We're all pushing each other to make each other better."

Towles has hit very well, batting .333 (12 for 36) through games of March 29.

"Things have gone real well," he said. "I came to spring training in good shape. I got a lot stronger during the off-season. I just hope I can continue to stay healthy."

Towles has great memories of Lexington, where he batted .346 in 45 games in 2005 and came back to post a .317 mark with 12 home runs and 55 runs batted in in 81 games in 2006. He passed along a greeting to the Ferry family of Lexington, who served as his host family.

"I remember how great the fans are, how supportive they are -- the host families and the Booster Club," Towles recalled.